HOME RESTORATION, REMEDIATION & REPAIRS

There are a lot of different types of losses that a homeowner can experience, but one of the most common is flooding and water damage. That may sound odd, but when you think about all of the different causes of water damage, then you’ll realize why it happens so much. Even when there is a fire, most of the damage is actually caused by the water that’s used to extinguish the fire, rather than the fire itself. Then, there are the occasional broken or burst pipes, either caused by freezing weather or rusted out pipes. And finally, there is storm damage flooding, sometimes the roof blows off and other times rivers rise beyond their banks.

Insurers Report That A Surprising Number Of Flood Claims Are Preventable

Just regular home maintenance would prevent almost 90% of all water damage claims because they’re caused by either broken pipes, clogged gutters, clogged downspouts, backed up drains or toilets, and other easily repairable problems.

Another huge cause is appliances like washing machines, dishwashers, water heaters and refrigerators that either malfunction or the piping that connects to them has a problem. A careful inspection of each appliance several times a year could most likely prevent leaks and overflows in these areas as well.

The way that most insurance companies cover these types of losses is that if the pipe breaks, roof blows off, fire is extinguished, or the machine overflows suddenly, you’re probably covered, subject to your deductible and other policy restrictions.

On the other hand, a slow drip from a leaky faucet, water heater, pipe joint, or leaking foundation will not be covered because you needed to find and fix the problem before any damage was caused.

Any Kind Of Water Damage, No Matter The Source, Can Be Very Dangerous! Do Not Wait, Make Sure You Act On It Right Away!

It’s hard to imagine, but even a small drip that goes undetected for a long period of time can be very dangerous because of the types of mold and mildew that can grow and thrive in that environment. Some kinds of black mold are highly toxic and require testing, environmental suits, removal of the mold and substrate, and then an application of a preventative chemical for the long term.

The serious problem with black mold is that it can grow in some of the hardest places to find in your home. Places like: under your kitchen sink, bathroom sink, washing machine, refrigerator, basements, crawl spaces and many other places that the average homeowner likes to avoid.

Molds release spores, and that’s what most people have a problem with. When it comes to black mold, there are only a few that are highly toxic, and the rest are just highly allergenic. If you’ve noticed yourself or other family members have hay fever symptoms year round, it might be time to get a thorough mold inspection and remediation done.

Some Sources Of Water Damage Are Just Plain Horrible

Most of the water damage that comes from your pipes, rainwater, or appliance overflows, is going to be basically clean water. It still causes damage, but by itself, it’s not toxic. On the other hand, sewage overflows from either inside plumbing problems, outside sewage mains, smoke tainted water, or polluted river water can be a major problem.

One of the reasons that it’s so important to call a professional water damage restoration company immediately is that they’ll know what can be saved and what can’t. There’s no sense wasting dozens of hours extracting water and every last bit of sewage from a carpet and pad, they’re going to be a total loss. They’ll just take them out and load them into a dumpster. Some river water is the same, other types of water not, only a professional experienced in these types of losses will know.

Are You Experiencing A Flood? Time Is Of The Essence! Do Not Wait Any Longer, Make Sure You Act On It Right Now!

Whatever the cause, if you’ve had a serious flood you need to act immediately to save some parts of your home from destruction. Some types of construction will be soaking up the water by the minute. The longer you wait to get the water damage restoration started, the worse your problems are going to be.

Nearly all fire restoration or flood damage services work 24 hours a day on call because that’s when they’re needed. They’ll have several different sizes of commercial grade water pumps that can empty an entire basement of water in a short time.

Then, they’ll bring in crews of highly trained workers that will use wet vacuums to finish getting every last visible drop of water out of the house. If you’ve had a fire, they’ll also have large, high-powered window fans to get the smoke fumes out of the home, in addition to helping to air dry the interior.

Carpet with padding can pose its own problems since it will have soaked up lots of water that is difficult to remove. The workers will extract as much as possible with their vacuums, then lift the carpet up to expose the padding and floor underneath for further drying.

There are special fans that blow huge quantities of air directed underneath a carpet and pad, they’ll have several of these that will be needed to save your carpet, pad, and flooring. Some floors are made from particle board, which can’t be wet more than just a little while before it’s ruined, so the faster the crew works the less expensive damages will be.

If you have personal belongings that have gotten wet, first they’ll use the vacuums, but then they’ll bring out towels to hand dry them as quickly as possible. Most personal items are irreplaceable and very sensitive to water damage, so the speed of a well-trained team of workers is important.

One of the keys to getting your insurance company to cover the entire cost is to call them and get an adjuster to come directly over to see the extent of the damages. Most water damage companies work very closely with insurance adjusters and it’s good to get them working together from the start.

If you’ve experienced a fire or water damaged home in the past, you’ll realize how important it is to do some research and have one already picked out in case of an emergency. You’ll also already understand that nearly every water damage situation is an emergency, since the damage continues as long as there’s water in your home.